History of PLES

Over 20 years ago, a small number of Penn Law LLM alumni met in London for dinner; after a few years they extended their gathering to include all European alumni. They later decided to organize a special Penn Law alumni weekend once a year, each time in a different European city. And with that, the Penn Law European Society (PLES) and the annual PLES Meeting tradition was born.

Since then, from 40 to 80 alumni and guests meet for long weekends in beautiful locations from Antibes, Oxford, St. Petersburg, and Bologna to Hamburg, Lisbon, Vienna, Prague, and Edinburgh to name a few. From informal gatherings to gala dinners, city tours to academic discussions with local university and Penn Law representatives, the weekend is full of opportunities. Our alumni keep coming back to experience European cities as locals, develop new friendships, and catch up with colleagues.

*Although the location for PLES 2015 was previously announced as Kyiv, Ukraine, given ongoing security concerns in Ukraine, we have made the decision to hold this year’s conference in Rome, Italy. Dates for the conference, however, remain the same.

We hope to reschedule a future PLES conference in Kyiv at a later date when the situation has improved.